A Tiny Plum Cobbler Full of Tiny Plums

25 July 2015

Better pictures not available because I ate it all already.

Last weekend, we got a boatload of tiny plums at the farmers market in town. About the size of cherries, they were deliciously juicy and sweet on the inside with super-tart skins. But a girl (and her husband) can only eat so many plums in one sitting, and so the remainder went into a tiny plum cobbler. If, like me, you like cobblers with rising crusts (not biscuit tops), and want a cobbler that serves a normal number of people (think 2-4 instead of 6-12), here's the recipe for you:

1 cup of pitted, chopped plums* (the number of plums you'll need will vary depending on the size of the plums, but you want about 1 cup of the final product. Slightly more or less than a cup will be fine, it will just adjust your crust/filling ratio in the finished product.

2 tbs of white sugar

1 tsp cornstartch

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together. Ideally, let them sit for a few minutes to marinate in their own juices (you can just let them sit while you make the batter, as follows).

I expect you could make this with other stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries) and/or mix in other fruits with your stone fruits if you like. Cobblers are forgiving, and the batter and assembly will work for ~1 cup of whatever typical pie filling you like.

In a small (~5x7) baking dish (or a few small ramekins, if you prefer individual servings), melt the butter completely. If it's not already, spread it around the bottom of the dish.

In a separate bowl (as one who constantly ignores instructions for separate bowls, trust me this time: you need a separate bowl), whisk together the flour, sugar and baking powder. Stir in the milk until just combined. The dough should be slightly runny.

Pour the batter over the melted butter. Do not stir.

Pour the filling over the batter (tip: when you pour, don't pour it all straight in the center, but rather around the pan to make sure it spreads out as much as possible). Do not stir.

Bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes (potentially less if you're using individual ramekins), or until top of the crust is golden brown.